loved you all along: relationship
by ankaz123
Summary: sequel to "how it began". Set 18 months after first one. Max and Millie are married but how will their marriage cope when a case involving a desperate single mother divides them.
1. Chapter 1: Driving home

Loved you all along: relationship

**Sequel to how it began....only one chapter up as I was doing it last night with a massive headache..anyway hope you enjoy and remember to always review....xx**

Chapter 1: Driving home

Max signed and dated the last incident from his pile and turned off the lamp on his desk. He went down to his locker and collected his coat. As he went to close his locker, he saw the picture of his wife taped to the inside of the door. He saw Millie's bright, smiling face and found himself smiling as well. He had always thought her smile was infectious.

It had been 18 months since he had acknowledged his true feelings for her. She had been shot by a fugitive and seeing her so venerable made him realise how he actually felt. He had loved her all along but somehow had managed to convince himself otherwise. But all that didn't matter now; they were married and together forever.

Max closed his locker and walked out into the winter chill, towards his car. He couldn't wait to get home and see Millie. As he was driving home, he was stopped by traffic; he groaned and hit the steering wheel out of frustration.

"This isn't a busy road, why is there traffic?" he thought.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the lights from a police car flashing. Confused he pulled over and walked up to the group of uniformed officers, some were controlling traffic while a few were grouped around a crashed car.

"Sarge? What are you doing here?" asked Mel, as he came up to her.

"I could ask you the same thing PC Ryder" Max replied giving her a confused look.

"There was a hit and run incident Sarge. A woman and her young child were driving when they were hit pretty hard from behind. They were both taken to St Hugh's with minor injuries".

"Right, well I was just one my way home and I saw the lights" Max explained indicating to the flashing red and blue lights on top of the police area car. "Why don't you call Grace and Mickey, they can help you out with the investigation". Mel nodded and walked away speaking into her radio. Max took one last look at the scene around him before stepping back into his car and driving home.

Millie was curled up on the sofa watching TV and sipping a cup of tea when Max came home. She greeted him with her usual smile and kiss.

"How was your day?" she asked him as he sat down next to her.

"Oh you know the usual, paperwork, but there was also a car accident". Max told Millie about the accident he had stopped at on his way home.

"Oh, that's just horrible why would someone do that? I hope the mother and child are ok" Millie added compassionately.

Max nodded in agreement and stifled a yawn. Millie just giggled, knowing he was exhausted and simply said

"Max, just go to sleep, I can see how tired you are".

Max chuckled, amazed at how well Millie knew him and nodded walking out of the lounge and into their bedroom. He collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep straight away.


	2. Chapter 2: Getting the case

Chapter 2: Getting the case

**Remember to review!**

Chapter 2: Getting the case

Max woke up the following morning, got dressed and found Millie in the kitchen eating a piece of toast for breakfast. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and reached past her for a mug and poured himself some coffee, snatching the other piece of buttered toast from Millie's plate.

"Hey" she laughed "that's mine".

Max just winked and grinned cheekily, biting the piece of toast. "You ready to go?" he asked her swallowing.

"Yeah" she replied, getting up and putting her plate and mug into the sink, "let me just go put on a sweater, pretty chilly today". Millie went into the bedroom and return wearing a thick black sweater. They walked out to the car together and Max sat down in the driver's seat.

When they arrived at Sun Hill police station, Max gave Millie a quick kiss and walked up the stair to CID, while Millie continued straight into Uniform. Yes, they were married, but at work, everything was professional. Millie went into the change rooms and found Nate, putting on his utility belt.

"Morning Mill's" he said cheerfully as she opened the door of her locker.

"Morning to you to Nate, you are you so chirpy this today?" she asked him smirking.

"Oh, nothing much, just happy, that's all" replied Nate, winking and walking out of the change rooms.

Millie just laughed and shook her head before also putting her belt on and closed her locker. As Millie walked out the door she nearly ran into Rodger who just smiled warmly at her.

"Ah Millie, just the person I was looking for, you and me are in the area car today".

Millie rolled her eyes and returned the smile. "Great!" she added sarcastically before following Rodger out to the car.

* * *

Max was sitting at his desk with his feet up on the table, reading through some old case files when DI Manson walked up to him. He dumped a file containing some papers on Max's desk.

"You and Grace are going to be working on this one" he told Max indicating to the file. "Briefing in 5" he added before walking back to his office.

"Right, thanks Guv" he grumbled to himself rolling his eyes.

* * *

"This is Kyra Milson and her three year old daughter Sophie" explained Neil pointing to the photos stuck on the whiteboard behind him.

"Last night, Kyra and her daughter were driving along Lawson Road at about 20:45, when they were hit pretty hard from behind by another vehicle which then took off at high speeds. Now normally this wouldn't be a big deal for CID, but this isn't the first time this has happened to this particular woman. In fact she has had threats made against her and her daughter numerous times before. There have been anonymous phone calls and emails threatening to kill or hurt both Kyra and Sophie. We have looking into this but haven't found much to work with".

"So what do you want us to do?" asked Max.

"We are going to monitor both Kyra and Sophie and see if any more threats are made. Max I want you to look at Kyra's previous partners and also Sophie's father and see if you can find any reason as to why someone,_ anyone_, would hurt them. Grace I want you to go grab someone from Uniform and go and talk to Kyra and ask her why _she_ thinks someone would hurt her".

Neil finished the briefing and everyone dispersed to go do the tasks they were assigned.

* * *

Grace walked down the stairs and knocked on the door of Inspector Smith's office. He greeted her with a surprised smile and beckoned her inside.

"Morning Grace, what brings you down to Uniform today?"

"Smithy, I need to borrow a PC to help me out and possibly act as FLO on a case I'm working on, can you spare us anyone?"

"Right" he answered, "well let me just who isn't busy at the moment, give me a sec". Just as Smithy finished his sentence, Millie walked passed his door and down the hallway.

"Millie!" he shouted running up to his door and sticking his head out. Millie turned at the sound of her name and walked up to Smithy curiously. "Why aren't you out in the area car with Rodger?" he asked frowning.

"Oh yeah we were, but we were called back because Rodger is FLO on a case with Jo and Stuart and there was some emergency. I was just on my way to go do some leftover paperwork".

"Ok well you can forget about that because Grace needs you to help her out with a case" he said indicating to a smiling Grace who was standing behind him.

"Ok sounds good" Millie replied with a polite smile.

Grace just nodded her head and walked out the door with Millie in tow.


	3. Chapter 3: Meeting Sophie

Chapter 3: Meeting Sophie

**Please review!**

Chapter 3: Meeting Sophie

"So what's this case about, Grace?" Millie asked as they stepped into the car.

Grace explained everything to Millie, who as always, was listening intently.

"Wow, why would someone stalk a single mother and her child? That's just horrible".

Grace nodded "I agree it just doesn't seem right does it? Now, we need to find out who Kyra thinks anyone would want to stalk her, maybe we can get something from there. Her daughter is three and I want _you_ to talk to her and find out what has been happening over the last few months while this has being going on. Don't scare her or give her any indication that her mother is in trouble".

Millie just nodded and sat silently until they arrived at the estate on which Kyra lived. They walked up a flight of stairs and Grace knocked on the first door which had a small metal 8 nailed into it. A skinny woman with short, fair hair and big blue eyes opened the door and peered out at the two women. Millie noticed her looked quite young, about in her mid 20's and she had a small band-aid over a cut on her eyebrow as well as a large scratch on her cheek.

"DC Dasari and PC Brown Ms Milson" Grace said as she and Millie flashed their ID cards at the woman. "We are here to talk to you about your accident yesterday and what has been happening over the last few months".

Kyra nodded and opened to door wider so that the two officers could come in. Grace walked into the small flat and into the main room, Millie followed while Kyra closed the front door behind them. Millie also noticed that Kyra had about three locks on her door and she locked each one tightly when she closed the door. Kyra brushed past Millie who stood in the hallway and walked up to Grace.

"Err would you like a cup of tea?" she asked nervously.

Grace smiled politely and answered "sure I'd love one, Millie?" she asked the PC who quickly shook her head. Grace followed Kyra into the kitchen while Millie stayed in the lounge room and looked around. There were many pictures of Kyra and a young girl, presumably Sophie, smiling and laughing. There was also a whole shelf of these which Millie found cute and lovely, but one photo made her frown slightly. Kyra and Sophie were sitting with a man, who looked about 30 or so. They looked pretty close, Millie would almost call it intimate, but she remembered Grace had told her that Kyra was a single mother who didn't have a boyfriend or partner.

Millie was brought out of her thoughts as the young girl from the photos, Sophie, peeked out from behind a bedroom door. Millie gave her a warm smile.

"Hi sweetie" she asked kindly, crouching down on her knees, trying to coax the girl out to talk to her. "My name is Millie, what's yours?"

"Sophie" she replied shyly.

"Wow, I like your name. This is your room?" she asked indicating to the door where Sophie was hiding.

Sophie nodded.

"It looks really nice, can I come in and have a look?" she asked gently.

Sophie just nodded again and opened the door for Millie to come in. The room had posters of horses and fairies posted on its walls. The bed had a pink sheet covering it as well as many dolls and teddies.

"This is such a nice room Sophie" commented Millie, looking at the girl, who just beamed. Millie sat down on the bed and picked up a doll. "I like this doll, what's her name?"

"Her name is Emma" replied the girl proudly as she sat next to Millie on the bed.

"Well she is beautiful, where did you get her?" asked Millie.

"Joe gave her to me, he said it was a special present for a special girl" she answered beaming again.

"Right, who's Joe?" Millie asked looking over at Sophie, who was playing with the doll's hair.

"He is mummy's friend, he comes here a lot, Mum says it's just to visit, coz I'm so special"

"Oh ok, what else does your mummy say?" she asked Sophie kindly, trying not to push.

"She says that she is doing everything for me and that she loves me and that whatever happens, she wants me to remember it was all for me", Sophie didn't seem to understand what that meant as she didn't seem upset.

Millie frowned trying to understand what Sophie had just told her when Kyra entered the room. Millie's expression softened and she smiled at a nervous looking Kyra.

"Hey baby, what are you doing?" Kyra asked a happy Sophie.

"I'm showing Millie my dolls mummy, she thinks they are pretty". Kyra looked at Millie who gave her a warm smile and looked back down at Sophie. Behind Kyra, she noticed Grace nodding her head towards the door, indicating it was time to leave.

"Bye Sophie, I've got to go now, but I'll probably be back soon, ok?"

"Bye Millie" Sophie replied giving Millie a wave.


	4. Chapter 4: Love and lies

Chapter 4:

**Note: I know it's a little long... but still enjoy and review...xx**

"How did you go with Sophie?" asked Grace as they walked down the stairs together.

"Ahh yeah, she seemed to open up to me, I like her she's cute" Millie laughed. "No but in the lounge room I saw this photo of both Kyra and Sophie with a man, they all seemed pretty close. Also, Sophie had this doll, which she adored and when I asked her where she got it, she said a man named 'Joe' gave it to her".

"Hmm yeah, I got the impression that Kyra was nervous and holding something back".

"Yeah same, here, did you see all the locks on her door? She is _really_ afraid of someone".

Grace nodded and replied "now we just need to find out _who_. Let's get back to the nick; Max was going to look at Kyra previous partners and anyone else who might have something against Kyra and her daughter".

.............

When Grace and Millie arrived at the station, they both pushed through the swinging doors and walked into CID. Grace walked straight up to Max, who had his back to her.

"What you got?" she asked him. Max spun around in his chair and smiled when he saw Millie behind Grace who beamed back at him. Realising Grace was watching he cleared his throat.

"Ah I've got a few names for previous partners, not many though. Only one has form, a Joshua Ryan, arrested for assault and drugs a year ago. Now according to his mother, whom I rang, he and Kyra broke up after he was arrested and haven't heard from each other since".

"Have you found Sophie father yet?" asked Millie.

"Actually I can answer that one" interrupted Grace, "when I was have a chat with Kyra in the kitchen earlier, she told me that she had a one night stand with some bloke once and later found out she was pregnant. She never tried to track the guy down but she thinks his name was James Anderson".

"What about this 'Joe' Sophie mentioned?" Millie asked Grace "what do we do about him?"

"Well the way Sophie was talking about him, I think that he is a little more than a friend, we need to track him down and see what we can get from him."

"Where do you want to start?" Millie asked.

"Let's go back to Kyra's and see what she can tell us about him."

Millie nodded and Grace started for the door while Millie paused and gave Max a quick kiss before jogging after Grace.

.............

Kyra seemed annoyed when she opened the door and saw a smiling Grace and Millie looking at her.

"Your back" she commented "how can I help you?"

"Kyra, can we come in?" Grace asked gently.

Kyra just shrugged her shoulders and opened the door wider and walked back into the flat. Millie closed the door after she and Grace had walked in.

"Kyra, do you know a 'Joe'?" Grace asked softly sitting down across from Kyra, who had sat down on the lounge.

Kyra's eyes widened when she heard what Grace asked her. "No!" she answered quickly, her expression softened but she still sounded anxious.

Grace exchanged glances with Millie, who just looked back at Kyra who was fiddling with her hands.

"Ok" Grace said slowly, "who else do you think might be doing this?"

"I don't know!" Kyra explained her anxious tone replaced with frustration.

"Mummy?" came a soft voice from the door. Millie turned to see Sophie standing at the door, looking at her mother questionably. "Millie!" her tone quickly changed to excitement when she saw the PC.

"Millie, why don't you take Sophie to her room for a bit while I talk to Kyra?"

Millie nodded and took Sophie hand and led her back to her bedroom.

"Is Mummy in trouble?" Sophie asked looking at Millie with wide eyes.

"No sweetie, we just need to ask Mummy a few questions, that's all" Millie replied smiling down at the playing child. Millie sat and listened while Sophie showed all her dolls and talked about them.

Eventually Grace appeared at the door and beckoned Millie to her.

"Ok, I've talked to Kyra and she's given me some name of her ex's. Let's get back down to the nick and check them out". Millie said her good-byes to Sophie and followed Grace down to the car.

* * *

"Ok, let's look at a Daniel Jones" Grace instructed Max as he typed the name into the computer database.

"Nope, no form".

"Alexander McGee"

"Nothing"

Grace continued to dictate names to Max. They all turned up with no form, until they got to the last name on the list.

"Joseph Marino"

"Yes! He has got form for harassment as well as assault. Says here, that he is thought to be a key figure in the underworld activity of London".

Just as Max had finished explaining this to an interested Grace, Millie walked up behind him.

"That's him!" he suddenly exclaimed, her mouth gaping open. She pointed to the picture of Marino on the computer.

Max and Grace both turned around to face her. "Who Millie?" asked Grace.

"The guy from the pictures in Kyra's flat. The guy who I said looked to be 'more than friends'. That is defiantly him."

"So that means Kyra lied to us" Grace said disappointedly "we better go and ask her why". Max see what you can find out about this Marino figure. Max nodded and returned to his computer while Millie followed a determined Grace back to the car.


	5. Chapter 5: Abused and alone

Chapter 5: Abused and alone

**Note: sorry for not updating sooner but I hope you enjoy...xx**

Millie knocked firmly on the door of Kyra's flat.

"Kyra? It's PC Millie Brown from Sun Hill. We need to talk".

No answer

"Maybe they went out?"

Grace frowned and said "yeah perhaps, we can just come back tomorrow morning".

Just as Millie and Grace turned around to leave, the door opened a fraction. A frightened Sophie peaked out from the small opening.

"Hey Sophie, where's Mummy?" asked Millie soothingly crouched down in front of Sophie.

Sophie just looked at Millie and threw her arms around her and starting crying.

"Hey," said Millie gently pulling Sophie off her and looking her tear-filled eyes. "What happened? Where's Mummy?" she added concerned.

"Joe came to our house" sobbed Sophie. "Mummy told me to go to my room. I heard them shouting and yelling. Mummy was crying, I opened the door a little bit and saw she was lying on the ground crying and Joe was standing next to her" Sophie explained wiping her eyes. "Joe saw me and came and shouted at me and hit me. Then he grabbed Mummy and took her away" Sophie started sobbing again and Millie pulled her into a huge hug.

* * *

"Max, please tell me that you have something on this Marino guy" said Grace as she pushed back the swinging doors of CID.

"Yes I do" answered Max "he is involved with Vince De Luca".

Grace eyes widened when she heard this. Vince De Luca was a notorious underworld figure. He was thought to be responsible for countless murders and various other severe crimes.

"I just can't believe that Kyra could be involved in something this bad".

Max raised an eye-brow and gave her a confused look.

She sighed "we went to her flat and found a distraught Sophie alone. She told us that Joe had come over and it seems that he attacked Kyra and taken her away. He apparently hit Sophie as well. Millie is downstairs with her, the FME checked her out and she is fine, but has confirmed that she _was_ hit. We need to know what Kyra's connection to Joe and De Luca is".

...................

Millie was sitting next to Sophie in the canteen. The little girl was munching a muffin and sipping an orange juice while drawing. Millie saw Max enter the canteen and beamed at him. He returned the smile and started towards her.

"How's its going?" he asked glancing at Sophie and sitting down opposite Millie.

"Yeah she's ok, worried about her mum I guess. Found anything new?" Millie asked.

"No, we are still trying to track down this Joe figure. We have his car rego and his address and we will see where that takes us" Max explained.

"Who are you?" asked Sophie directing the question at Max.

"Sophie, this is Max" Millie told Sophie introducing Max.

"Hi Sophie, are you ok? Is Millie taking good care of you?" Max asked giving Sophie a smile.

"Yep, we are best friends" stated Sophie happily, giving Max a big grin.

Max laughed and looked at Millie, who chuckled and put her arms around Sophie's shoulders, giving them a squeeze.

"Ok well, good to hear" Max replied still laughing. "Hey" he said, lowering his voice and looking at Millie "I've got to get back up to CID, but I'll call you if there are any new developments".

She nodded in reply and Max stood up and leant down to give Millie a deep kiss before turning and walking out of the canteen.


	6. Chapter 6: The small interview

Chapter 6:

**Note: I'm **_**really**_** sorry about the long delay but I had a mental block with this story and couldn't really find anything new to continue it with...but today I sat down and did one more chapter.....(so proud) haha......anyway hope you enjoy and remember to review........xx**

"Ah Max" said Grace when she saw him enter CID "figured out Kyra's connection to De Luca and Marino".

Max just raised his eyebrow and looked at Grace expectedly.

"Well Marino was a drug runner for De Luca and he is also known to have helped De Luca 'roughen' up some people for him. Now Marino is actually Kyra's second cousin. He has been supplying Kyra with money- being a young single mother; Kyra is obviously finding it hard to provide for Sophie. Marino must get a large amount of money from the drugs he sells and just puts some aside for Kyra".

"Hmm..." said Max thoughtfully, taking in all the information Grace was explaining. "But then why did Marino assault Kyra and kidnap her? If he giving her money to live on- essentially helping her- why has he turned around and done this?"

"That's what we need to find out" Grace replied. "And fast...what don't know where Kyra is and if she is in danger".

Max nodded in agreement "what do you want me to do?" he asked.

Grace was busy looking through some paperwork "can you go down stairs and ask Sophie some more questions, see if she can tell you more about Marino, where he might be- the like".

"Sure" Max mumbled to himself.

* * *

Millie's eyes lit up when she saw Max enter the soft interview. She was sitting on the lounge watching Sophie playing with the toys, but beamed when she saw her husband enter the room. Max glanced at Sophie and walked over to his wife. He sat down next to her and gave her a smile.

"How's it going?" Millie asked softly turning to face Max, putting her hand on his chest.

Max took her hand and gave it a small kiss; he filled her on what Grace had explained to him.

"Wow" Millie said, taken aback at what Max had told her. "Why would Marino do that? If he was taking care of them and supporting them".

Max opened his mouth to answer when Sophie stood up and walked over to Millie.

"Millie? What's going on?" she asked her eyes wide with concern.

"Oh....nothing to worry about Soph" Millie replied gently with a kind smile.

"Actually, Sophie, can I ask you a few questions about your Mum and Joe?" Max asked Sophie, giving her a gentle smile.

Sophie just nodded and sat down next to Millie.

"How does your Mummy know Joe?" he asked.

"Dunno, Mummy just said that he was family and that he was always helping us and that I should be thankful"

"Right" said Max nodding, "you're going really great Sophie. Now can you tell me what happens when Joe comes over to your house?"

"When he comes over Mummy usually tells me to go to my room and I can hear them talking, but sometimes, Joe will come into my room and give me presents" she said smiling at the memory.

"Really?" Max said in surprise "what kinds of presents?"

"Dolls, teddy bears and sometimes money" Sophie answered.

"That's nice, does Joe ever talk about where he lives or somewhere he likes to go?"

Sophie looked up at Millie, her eyes looked scared.

"It's ok Soph, you can tell Max, he wants to help" she said soothingly.

Sophie looked back at Max and replied "he always says he likes to go down by the river, he told me that he has a big house there. But I don't know anything else".

Sophie curled up against Millie and gave her a hug which Millie returned, rubbing the child's back.

"You did really well Sophie" Max told her kindly.

"Sophie, why don't you go and play with the Lego, while I talk to Max" Millie suggested.

Sophie nodded and trudged towards the tub of Lego sitting in the corner of the room.

"So what now?" Millie asked turning to face Max with a serious look on her face.

"Well I'll have a look at Marino's file and see if I can find this 'house by the river'. If we find it, we'll pay him a visit and move from there".

Millie nodded and rubbed her face with her hands, sighing deeply.

Max noticed her tiredness "why don't you go home? Get some sleep and relax, I'll come home after I've looked up these addresses".

Millie smiled at him "yeah I will, but first I'm going to stay here until the social worker comes and picks Sophie up, I wanna be here when she leaves. I'll come home after though".

Max nodded and gave Millie a kiss, said bye to Sophie and walked out of the room, back to CID.


	7. Chapter 7:Comfort

Chapter 7:

Mille waved sadly to Sophie as the social worker took her hand and led her out of the stations front doors. Mille sighed deeply, turned around and started towards the locker rooms, pulling her tie off as she walked. She pulled her locker door open and grabbed her clothes. She stood in the shower for a few minutes just letting the water run down her, her mind empty. Eventually she got changed, grabbed her handbag and started for the front exit.

"Mills! Wait up" she heard her husband call out behind her.

She turned around and saw Max jog up to her.

"You ok?" he asked her, putting his hands on her arms, looking into her tired eyes, concerned.

She nodded and gave him a tight smile. "Yeah yeah, just really knackered"

Max looked at her, but he knew she was holding something back.

"Millie" he said looking at her seriously, "I know that not all, tell me what's wrong" he added rubbing her arms.

Suddenly tears welled up in Millie's eyes and she broke down, crying. Max led her into the next room, shut the door behind them and gave Millie a warm hug.

"Sophie was so sad when the social worker came for her, she was crying and reaching out for me and I couldn't do anything" Millie sobbed into his shoulder.

Max pulled her back and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Max looked deeply into her eyes "Shhh, it's ok, it's not your fault, it had to happen" he said and pulled her back in a hug, Millie rested her head on Max's chest and welcomed his warmth and comfort.

"Look, why don't we go home?" he asked gently. "I'll take you myself".

Millie gave him a small smile and nodded.

"Ok, why don't you go sit in the car and I'll just go tell the DI". Millie gave another nod; Max gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and jogged up the stairs to CID.

He found the DI in his office, reading some files. Max knocked lightly on the door, Neil looked up quickly and beckoned Max inside.

"Guv, just letting you know that I'm knocking off, I'm taking Millie home, she's a bit upset about the little Milson girl".

"Yeah sure, goodnight" Neil mumbled, turning back to his files.

Max returned to the car and found Millie sniffling and wiping her eyes. Max sat down in the driver's seat and looked over at Millie again.

"It all going to be ok" he told her reassuringly, squeezing her shoulder gently.

Millie gave him a grateful smile in return. Max started the engine and they drove home in silence.

* * *

When they arrived home, Millie went to get changed, while Max walked into the kitchen and started to make tea. Millie came out in her dressing gown and sat down on the lounge and crossed her legs underneath her. Max came over and handed her a mug of tea. She took a small sip and put the cup down on the coffee table in front of her. Max sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulder; Millie rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes.

They were sitting like this for a few minutes when Millie announced she was going to bed.

"I'm so tired, I just need a rest" she told him. Max nodded and followed her into the bedroom.

* * *

Max woke up with a start and looked over at the red numbers of the clock on his bedside table.

_6:13am_

Max pulled back the covers and sat up on the side of the bed. He turned and looked over at his sleeping wife. She looked so peaceful and calm in her sleep, Max couldn't help but smile at her. Suddenly he heard his phone go off downstairs.

Quickly he jumped up and silently ran down the stairs over to his phone which was sitting on the kitchen bench.

He checked caller ID and saw that it was the DI.

"Max" he heard the DI say, when he picked up "I need you to come in, something's come up and we need you in here".

* * *

Millie woke up at 7:45 and felt on the other side of the bed for her husband. She frowned when she realised he wasn't there.

"That's strange" she thought to herself "today's his day off".

Mille got out of bed, had a shower and went into the kitchen to make herself breakfast.

She was about to pour the coffee into a mug when the phone went off. Mille walked over to it and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Mills, it me" she heard Max say.

"Oh, hey" she replied "I was wondering where you had got to, you're off today aren't you?"

"Yeah, but I got called in" he paused and sighed "Mills, I think you better get down here, we've found Kyra".


	8. Chapter 8: Feeling down

Chapter 8: Feeling down

**Note: I'm **_**so**_** sorry it's taken me forever to update but my Sea Patrol story is just so popular that I've been continuing that one, but I hope that you still enjoy and remember to review! **

Millie stormed into CID and glanced around for Max, she found him with his back to her looking through some files.

"What's going on?" she demanded.

Max turned around and led Millie into another room. Max closed the door behind him and turned to face his wife.

"We got a call from the hospital about a young woman that had been bashed and left outside the entrance of A&E over at St Hugh's. Jo and I went down there to investigate and I recognised her as Kyra" Max explained while Millie listened intently. "I'm not going to lie, Mills, she is in pretty bad shape, whoever bashed her up, they really meant business".

Millie covered her gapping mouth with a shaking hand and sat down on a nearby chair. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Will she be ok?" Millie choked out.

"I'm not sure, when we left the hospital, she was in ICU and she was still unconscious, the doctors were looking after her, and they think she might need surgery if she has internal injuries".

"Oh my god" exclaimed Millie, wiping a tear that was now rolling down her cheek.

Max crouched down in front of his wife and took her hands in his. He gave them a squeeze and a light kiss. Max looked into his wife's tear glazed eyes and gave her a small smile.

"It going to be ok" he told her gently.

Millie just gave him an appreciative look in return, bent over and gave Max a deep kiss. Millie rose from her chair and sniffled, wiping the last of her tears.

"Who's going to tell Sophie?" Millie asked.

"The DI thought it be best that you told her, given your relationship with her".

Millie nodded, it made sense, the little girl had grown on her and she was starting to really like looking after her.

"I've made the call and the social worker is coming around at about 10 with Sophie, you can tell her then. Right now, I'm going back to the hospital to collect the CCTV tapes and ask a few of the nurses and doctors some questions" Max explained. "Why don't you go to the canteen and get something? Take a break and let everything sink in".

Millie gave him an appreciative smile and nodded in agreement. Max gave her a last kiss on the forehead and left. Mille slowly followed in his footsteps. She went into the locker rooms and changed; she then trudged into the canteen and got herself a coffee.

She was sitting, looking glum and mindlessly stirring her coffee when Nate walked in and saw his friend looking so down. He walked over and sat down opposite her, giving her a warm, friendly smile. She returned the smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes and Nate knew something was bothering her.

"What's wrong Mills?" he asked her concerned.

"Nothing" she replied quickly, straightening up and pasting a wide smile on her face.

But Nate could see right through her façade and gave her a smile.

"Millie, I know you are lying to me, so c'mon……spill"

Millie exhaled deeply and gave her friend a grateful smile before telling him everything.

"Whoa" was all Nate said after hearing Millie's story. "So what are you going to do now?" he asked her.

"I don't know" Millie replied, shaking her head. "I've got to tell Sophie what's happened and then I might go down to the hospital and see Kyra".

Nate nodded understandingly and smiled gently.

They chatted for a few minutes before Nate was called out. Millie looked at the clock and saw that it was 9:00.

Millie exhaled sharply, "oh well, here goes nothing" she thought, getting up and making her way to the front doors of the station, where a smiling Sophie was waiting for her.


End file.
